Review – Season of Seduction Edited by Angela James

Publisher: Carina Press
Publish Date: Nov 21st
How I got this book: ARC from the publisher

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Stories also available for purchase separately
This blurb came from Goodreads.

Five Golden Rings by Jeffe Kennedy

**fans self** Kennedy certainly cranked up the heat for this opening story. I enjoyed how she presented both the strength and uncertainty in both characters. She was able to emphasize the give and take and how important communication was even during a no strings attached holiday fling. I thought it was great when Tilda decided she was tired of having her observations dismissed and proceeded to give Miguel some serious things to consider about what was really important. Watching his realization about his behavior, mental stereotypes, and his glimpse into the rest of Tilda over the last three notes was extremely touching. I thought he completely redeemed himself when he effectively put all of the power and control into her hands.

Ménage on 34th Street by Elise Logan and Emily Ryan-Davis

I have mixed feeling about this story. The tangled web between the three individuals jerked my emotions this way and that and left me feeling that while all parties had agreed on making this a threesome, there was still so much baggage and unspoken angst that their relationship would experience a lot more strain in the future. I was glad to see that Angela James asked for the rest of their story as well, to be published in 2014, because I am just not confident in a HEA at the moment. I do think Logan and Ryan-Davis did a great job showing the start of this relationship and the groundwork to make it work if everyone gives an honest attempt. The importance on communication and accepting the needs of not just your partner but also yourself were two common threads throughout this story. I was glad to see that focus. However, I also felt as if Hunter was two-dimensional. I didn’t see him exhibit any awareness of the emotional state of Kat or Liam and how his words and actions impacted them. Overall, this ended up the most unsatisfying read of this anthology because I think the complicated framework needed much more space to fully flesh out. I am curious to see how Logan will move this trio to a HEA.

Naughty Nicks by Christine d’Abo

I thought this short story was a lot of fun to read. I admit I was slightly worried about how this relationship was going to work given its initial starting point but I ended up absolutely loving the method d’Abo used. The passage of time and growth of friendship between Kim and Blake with their base of sexual attraction was very intense. I also got quite a kick out of the holiday business that brought them together each year. One of the other things I loved about this story was how Kim and Blake were ordinary people. Kim spilled food on herself, didn’t have a perfectly straight sterile house, and wasn’t afraid to experiment. Blake couldn’t dance, had very strict workplace ethics, and did everything he could to not jeopardize what limited contact he had with Kim. I loved what Blake did as he told Kim without using any words exactly how he felt about her. D’Abo also included closure with Blake’s past that made me really believe in their chances together.

Matzoh and Mistletoe by Jodie Griffin

I thought this was a great way to end the anthology. A friendship and attraction built over two meetings a year for several years. Only this year things are different because Becca has been divorced for nine months, which meant that she and Jeremy could act on their mutual interest. I thought Griffin took some chances here given Becca’s reason for the divorce and Jeremy’s sexual orientation. I loved how communication was again emphasized, even to the point of interrupting sexy times, as they worked their way through Becca’s past trauma. I also enjoyed Jeremy’s unfamiliarity with their particular relationship dynamic and how he learned as they went along. I thought this depicted a much more believable scenario because it leveled the playing field between Becca and Jeremy. They had to be open and trust each other which made the story that much more sweet to me.

Overall, I enjoyed this anthology. This group had varying levels of heat and degree of BDSM but they all emphasized how important communication was in building and maintaining the relationships. Even the story that I found the weakest wasn’t a bad story, just one that felt overly ambitious for the length limitation. I think it speaks highly of authors’ ability to intrigue me that I am very interested to see where the trio goes in next year’s standalone.

I give Season of Seduction a B

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